New flashpoint in the Middle East with the Houthis threatening the United States and Britain that they will pay for the strikes on dozens of targets in Yemen.. The Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the supreme political council of the Shiite rebels, today Friday described the US-British strikes that took place at night as “barbaric”. He added that a statement would be issued soon in response to the attacks.

The spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Mohammed Abdel Salam, made it clear earlier today that the movement will continue to target merchant ships if they have anything to do with Israelwhile he denounced the “unjustified”, according to him, strikes by the American and British armed forces against the movement’s facilities in various cities.

“There is no justification for this attack against Yemen, because there is no threat to international shipping in the Red Sea (…) the target (of the Houthis) has been and will remain Israeli ships and those heading to the ports of the occupied Palestine,” he underlined via X (the former Twitter).

The spokesman for Yemen’s Houthis, Mohammed Abdulsalam, announced that the US-British attack on Yemen was not justified, while adding that the Iran-backed group would continue to target ships heading to Israel.

Abdulsalam added that the US and Britain were “wrong” to assess that the strikes “will prevent Yemen from supporting Palestine and Gaza”.

Houthi leader Mohammed al-Buhaiti has threatened that the US and Britain will “soon realize” that the strikes in Yemen “were the greatest madness in their history”.

“America and Britain were wrong who started the war in Yemen because they didn’t learn from their past experiences,” wrote X, formerly of Twitter.

“Every person in this world is faced with two choices,” he added. “Either stand on the side of the victims of genocide or stand on the side of its perpetrators,” he noted.

They condemned Iran, Iraq, Hamas and Hezbollah

Its Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and the Lebanese one Hezbollah condemned the US-British strikes today.

THE Hamas he noted in a statement issued that the US and Britain will bear responsibility for the impact of their attack on security in the region.

The Shia armed group Hezbollah of Lebanon condemned the attack against the Houthis stating that “the American attack confirms once again that the US is fully complicit in the tragedies and massacres committed by the Zionist enemy in the Gaza Strip and the region”.

The American-British operation also caused his reaction Iraq.

The adviser to the Iraqi prime minister, Fadi Al-Samari, warned that the West is expanding the conflict between Israel and Hamas and increasing tensions in the region, as reported by the Iraqi state news agency INA.

For his part, the representative of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Kanani, emphasized in a press release that the Islamic Republic “strongly condemns” the missile strikes.

“We strongly condemn the military attacks carried out this morning by the United States and the United Kingdom against Yemeni cities,” Kanaani stressed. “We consider them a clear violation of Yemen’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, international law, (international) regulations and rights.”

Red Sea

Beijing says it is concerned about the escalation

China said on Friday it was “concerned” by escalating tensions in the Red Sea following overnight airstrikes by the United States and the United Kingdom against Houthi rebel targets in Yemen.

“China is concerned about the escalation of tension in the Red Sea,” said Mao Ning, spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and urged “the parties involved to keep their cool to show restraint in order to avoid the extension of the conflict”.

Russian request to convene the Security Council

Russia has called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the military strikes in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia: Call for restraint

Saudi Arabia announced that it is monitoring the developments in neighboring Yemen with “concern” and called for “restraint”.

“It is monitoring with concern the military operations in the Red Sea and the strikes on facilities” in Yemen, the Saudi Foreign Ministry noted in a statement, calling for “restraint” and judging that escalation should be “avoided.”

Biden satisfaction

For his part, US President Joe Biden expressed satisfaction with the “successful” missile strikes.

As he said, this “defensive” operation was carried out in response to Houthi attacks on merchant ships passing through the Red Sea and had the “support” of Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands.

He warned, in a statement from the White House, that he “will not hesitate” to “order other measures” if he deems it necessary.

A senior government official said that the strikes had “specifically” targeted “infrastructure” from which “missiles”, “drones”, as well as “radar” are launched.

He reiterated the US position that Iran is “one of the main, if not the main, backers” of the Shiite rebel movement and provides them with both weapons and intelligence to use in their attacks.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the strikes were “necessary and proportionate”.

Protests outside the White House

At the same time, a group of protesters held a protest rally overnight outside the White House. “Let Yemen live” and “Hands off Yemen,” chanted the crowd. The demonstration was organized by the anti-war organizations Code Pink and

Hit 60 targets

US forces and their allies hit more than 60 targets in 16 locations used by the Houthis in Yemen, the US Air Force said.

These include command and control centers, ammunition depots, launch systems, production facilities and air defense radar systems, according to the statement released late Thursday.

In the blows they were used more than 100 precision munitions.

“We remain committed to our critical partners across the Middle East in defending against Iranian-backed paramilitary groups, including Houthi fighters, and the threat they pose to regional security and stability,” said Air Force Central Command US Lt. Gen. Alex Grinkewitz.